Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston –
A new program is being developed to reintroduce a career
series to assist contracting offices with their workload to support the Mission
and Installation Contracting Command’s 2025 transformation.
The MICC Contracting Operations Directorate, which stood up
in August as part of the MICC 2025 transformation, is developing the Purchasing
Agent, also known by its job series 1105, Career Series Program, to ensure
these individuals receive a newcomer’s orientation, knowledge and skills to become
proficient in their jobs.
The program will fall under the umbrella of the newly
created MICC Academy. A guide for simplified acquisition procedures, a
utilization plan and training course materials will be developed for those in
the 1105 series. The program also assists field offices with the integration of
this new career series in their workflow process.
“We know we cannot just bring in all of these 1105s into the
workforce without educating them,” said Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Gabbert, the MICC
commanding general. “This program is designed so as soon as they graduate from
this program they will have all the basic tools to perform contracting actions
like simple buys and reverse auctions. They will know the basic building blocks
to support the organization.”
Renee Burek, MICC’s 1105 program coordinator, is responsible
for facilitating the program, inspiring collaboration and encouraging effective
communication. Burek will oversee any Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement
Act certification and training, forecast funding for training requirements,
track any issues or trends for command resolution and be available to conduct
one-on-one career development guidance.
The establishment of a program coordinator provides new
employees in the 1105 career series with a person at MICC headquarters to
assist them with career development needs.
Program officials are re-engineering the processes and
procedures to ensure standardization and efficiency for simplified processes
and simplified acquisition procedures, or SAP. MICC officials are gathering
information and looking at areas where simplified acquisition procedures have
become overly complicated.
“We have received feedback from the field offices of areas
under SAP that have become overly complicated,” Burek said. “We want to make
sure the training is based upon standardized minimum requirements. We will need
to ensure these minimum requirements are agreed to by the entire MICC
enterprise to ensure proper standards are applied to contract management
reviews.”
The program will include a utilization plan to assist with
position management of the reintroduction of the 1105 series. The utilization
plan will include core competencies that are required for each of the target
grades.
“It is critical to demonstrate growth in knowledge and
capability through the grade structure,” said Maureen Huston, MICC procurement
analyst at Fort Hood, Texas. “We want to be able to use this series to its
utmost. Well-trained 1105s not only get the simplified acquisition procedure
mission done but also allow more 1102s to be available for higher dollar value,
complex source selections.”
Program course developers are creating training course
materials to support the development of the first-year acquisition worker. Some
material was gathered from other federal agencies for training, and based on
agreed standards, to develop other 1105 training courses.
The aim of the training is to provide practical training for
entry-level individuals before entry into the workforce. The MICC has 73 individuals
in the 1105 career series and a goal to have 180 across the command.
“One of the training initiatives is to depict the workflow
visually displaying how the work product is accomplished utilizing the
multitude of system applications and tools,” said David
Westfall, MICC contracting officer at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
“The objective of this initiative is to provide our new 1105 personnel with an
easy to understand graphic guide, which has been developed in large part by
Sgt. 1st Class David Archibald of the 735th Contracting Team – to assist them
in their first year of development. It should serve as an introductory guide to
our common acquisition systems, and assist them in getting acclimated to their
new work environment.”
Headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston,
the MICC is made up of more than 1,500 military and civilian members
responsible for contracting for Soldiers. In fiscal 2015, the command executed
more than 36,000 contract actions valued at more than $5.2 billion across the Army,
including $2.25 billion to American small businesses. The command also managed
more than 600,000 Government Purchase Card Program transactions in fiscal 2015
valued at an additional $747 million.